In recent years, there has been proposed a technology, in which an extremely small plate-shape portion (hereinafter, referred to as a microchip) called a microchip or a micro array is provided with a micro sample vessel, and solution delivery is performed in the microchip so as to perform mixing and reaction. The sample vessel of the microchip of this type has a diameter of 1 to 2 mm and a capacity of 2 to several μL, and is intended for an extremely small amount of sample.
Meanwhile, there has been already proposed a method of obtaining a desired product, in which the sample packed in minute volume vessel is subjected to a heating and cooling temperature cycle for extraction and analysis of a gene or a nucleic acid.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2005-117988 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1), there is described that “a device for amplifying a DNA including a treating block constructed of a substrate part keeping contact with a heating and cooling side of a thermo module, and formed by using a ceramic material and/or a graphite material having a thickness set to about ≦3 mm, and one or more cell part arranged on an upper face of the substrate part and composed of a material different from the ceramic material and the graphite material”. The device for amplifying a DNA installs therein the cell part having a cup-shape. There is described that “the cell part is a vessel of about 0.2 to 1.5 mL, and the cell parts are a plurality of recessed portions, which are formed on the upper surface of the plane board superposed on the upper surface of the substrate part”.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2005-40784 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 2), there is described that a temperature controlling mechanism in which, for each of the two or more chemical reaction parts in the microchemical chip, through a thermal conductor installing therein a temperature measuring means, a thermoelectric element is applied with a load so as to come into contact with a chemical reaction part in the microchip as a temperature generator. Upon temperature control, the thermoelectric element or the thermal conductor is caused to come into contact with the chemical reaction part. In this case, the both are caused to come into contact with each other by being loaded by a supporting member formed of an elastic body such as a spring. Further, the thermal conductor is exposed into the atmosphere, a part thereof is inserted into the recessed portion of the microchemical chip. Further, when the sample delivered to the reaction part in the microchemical chip is heated, the sample is heated in a state in which portions to be applied with heat such as a sample part, a conveying path, and a solvent part are continuous with and opened to each other.